Questions regarding getPortletDescription()

["Goldstein, Scott" <Scott.Goldstein@vignette.com>]

I have the following questions regarding the getPortletDescription() operation:

 

1. How does the data returned in the PortletDescriptionResponse relate to the portlet description contained within the ServiceDescription?  Must they be identical?  Or, can the producer change the data based on the user context.  For instance, could the producer not specify a particular supported mode if the user is not an admin?
2. If the answer to #1 is that they can be different, then is there a way to ensure, when calling this method, that the PortletDescription returned would be equal to that in the ServiceDescription?  Perhaps by sending all of the possible User Categories?
3. If the answer to #1 is that they must be the same, then is the only use of the UserContext attribute to allow the producer to throw an AccessDenied Fault?  Will passing all user categories avoid this?

 

Essentially, I’m trying to understand the intended use of getPortletDescription() and if it can be used as an optimization to update portlet meta data without having to retrieve the full service description.

 

Thanks for the information.

 

Scott